Law & Order: Tonight’s May Not be the Last Episode

by Trevor Kimball, May 24, 2010

One of the surprises of last week’s TV news was the cancellation of Law & Order after 20 seasons. The venerable NBC drama had been on the cusp of becoming the longest-running primetime drama on American television. Tonight marks the series finale of the show, or does it?

Created by Dick Wolf, Law & Order revolves around criminal investigations by the NYPD and the trials that follow. The current performers include Jeremy Sisto, Anthony Anderson, S. Epatha Merkerson, Linus Roache, Alana de la Garza, and Sam Waterston.

The ratings for Law & Order have been pretty low for awhile but, in part because it is produced in-house and in part because the rest of NBC’s schedule has done so poorly, the series has remained on the air.

It looked like it would certainly be back for season 21 but Wolf and NBC couldn’t come to an agreement over the finances. One potential deal even had NBC paying for eight episodes and TNT (which airs syndicated reruns) paying for another eight but the cable channel wouldn’t go for it.

Last week, NBC announced that a new series, Law & Order: Los Angeles, would be joining the schedule in the fall and that the original Law & Order had been cancelled. TNT released a statement that said the cable channel wasn’t in talks to pick it up.

However, it seems Wolf and NBC aren’t giving up. The veteran producer says that he’s seeking “other offers” for the show to try to keep it going as a weekly series. There are now reportedly meetings set up between NBC Universal and TNT execs to revisit the possibility of the cable channel funding original episodes. The NBC folks are apparently going over the numbers to try to figure out a way to make it work financially.

If these efforts don’t succeed, there has been talk of NBC working out a deal with Wolf to film some sort of wrap up for the show. That would most likely take the form of a two-hour movie.

Whatever happens, it doesn’t sound like tonight’s episode will be the last we’ll see of Law & Order. Despite issuing a statement that the series has been cancelled, NBC is now referring to tonight’s installment as merely the season finale.

What do you think? Do you think the TV show will continue on another station, will wrap up in a movie, or just disappear?

I have, like many of the shows fans have watched law every since it started. When the reruns are on. I will watch nothing else. I have been watching tv since its inception and went through the horrible shows of the fifties, and most of the junk we were stuck with since that time. The shows theyhave on now I turn off the tv when most come on. Is it possible that our poor educational system created the writers and producers that give us the garbage and drivel. And I have stopped buying many products that sponsor this crap. Why… Read more »

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May 18, 2012 6:31 am

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I Malone

I love L&O and I have tried to watch the new L&O LA but does not come near to the
originial.

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January 25, 2011 7:54 pm

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Anne Brewbaker

I must agree with the majority of viewers, L&O is the best show on TV and has been ever since its beginning. However after 20 years, it is time for a new one. That should not stop TNT from showing reruns on a regular basis and some marathons of the show best years. Viewers will enjoy it more. Although I think that criticism can be counter productive, there is enough trash at TNT to alarm the viewers: Angel, Charmed, Supernatural and Las Vegas to name the most silly. They are not only clogging the TNT airwaves with inanity but they… Read more »

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November 29, 2010 4:39 am

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Trisha Taylor

Although the posts are old, the sentiment for me has not changed. Aside from Homocide, L & O is the best program on TV. Its not about breaking a record, its about quality television. The stories are ripped from the headlines of the day and living in NY and how the show is written, its like actually living in the city. This is my opinion and only my opinion but it seems that the new viewing audience are into more of the mindless, simplistic reality shows which does not require too much, maybe physical beauty and a tape of sorts.… Read more »

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October 30, 2010 3:01 am

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ve

This is the one show that I watched every episode from the pilot.
And it is the only show I never get dissapointed or get bored after watching it after season after season.
Law & Order : LA? No! Law & Order seems so real because it’s in NY.
If money is the problem don’t make LA. Let us have the original Law & Order.

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June 20, 2010 12:12 pm

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Vin

Hands down the best program on TV. I watch little other than sports and I make time in my schedule to see Law and order(Original).

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June 16, 2010 3:05 pm

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Anonymous

OH, NO!!! I argued with a friend about this. He tried to tell me that it was cancelled and I told him he was crazy – they wouldn’t give up one of the best shows on television! Law and Order is one of the few shows I truly love and will watch every time it is on the air. Originals, reruns, reruns of reruns, more originals…between L&O and CSI, I watch very little else. Tehr eare some excellent summer shows, but they are only here for the summer and do not interfere with L&O and CSI. All these ___y reality… Read more »

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May 31, 2010 9:10 pm

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A.C.E. -LAW & ORDER ADDICT (AKA LUPO LOVER)

I HAVE BEEN WAITING AND WAITING FOR THE LAST THREE EPISODES TO AIR, MY WEEK ISN’T COMPLETE WITHOUT A LAW AND ORDER AND A DOSE OF LUPO. THIS SHOW HAS BEEN ON FOR MOST OF MY LIFE AND THE THOUGHT OF IT BEING CANCELLED SEEMS ALMOST A CRIME. I HAVE SEEN ALMOST ALL THE EPISODES IN PRIME TIME AND MULTIPLE TIMES ON CABLE AND FEEL LIKE THE CAST AND STORIES ARE FAMILY. I DIDN’T KNOW HOW I WOULD REACT WHEN LENNY LEFT AND THEN JESSIE L. MARTIN, BUT S.EPATHA, BERNARD, AND LUPO HAVE CREATED A RAPPORT THAT WORKS AND I… Read more »

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May 30, 2010 5:11 am

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Betty Seip

I would love to see Law and Order continue on. I think the show is the best show ever on TV showing how the NYC police works and how the Order side prosecutes. I still miss Jerry Orbach. In my opionion, his caracter and lines were very well written. We need more shows like Law and Order. There is not excessive violence, as on L&O-SVU.

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May 29, 2010 12:13 pm

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Kerry

I love Law & Order!

I would be very sad to see the show end without a proper, advance-warning send off that unites old and new cast-members and contains more than one obscure reference to Jerry Orbach and Jill Hennessy’s character.

That said, of course I don’ t want it to end! It’s an amazing show with writing, production, and acting that is still fresh after 20 years. I will keep watching as long as it airs.